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Iain Duncan Smith Resigns!

Hello and welcome to the DailyPickMeUp! it’s the weekend, you know you love it!

Just to say before hand, I’m not really into politics but as for news, I’m all over it and for many people, this is big news which can’t be ignored so here we go with news that everyone already knows about, unless you happen to live in a cave far far away with your fingers in your ears!

Iain Duncan Smith has resigned as the Work and Pensions Secretary over ‘indefensible’ changes to disability benefits that have changed in Britain or are set to change to PIP payments soon which the majority are not happy with for obvious reasons! And it was quite the shock to be honest for it to appear on my TV, computer and phone etc, it all imploded with the news, considering everything that has happened over in the UK in the last few months and even beyond that and for many, it’s a celebration or so it looks like from what I’ve been seeing and reading on the internet over the first 24 hours since the news broke out.

Prime Minister David Cameron was reportedly confused, puzzled and disappointed over this news whereas others are also calling for George Osborne to also resign from his position as many call him the architect of it all! Needless to say, a major change has happened in this whole situation and from where everyone stands, it appears that an unrumbling in the government is apparent over the Disability Allowance Cuts along with other issues ”EU Referendum”

Someone said to me the other day

”By the end of 2016, Britain could be out of the EU and Donald Trump could be America’s President!”

Anyway, enough of that terrifying image!

Here is his resignation letter in detail.

“I am incredibly proud of the welfare reforms that the government has delivered over the last five years. Those reforms have helped to generate record rates of employment and in particular a substantial reduction in workless households.

As you know, the advancement of social justice was my driving reason for becoming part of your ministerial team and I continue to be grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to serve. You have appointed good colleagues to my department who I have enjoyed working with. It has been a particular privilege to work with excellent civil servants and the outstanding Lord Freud and other ministers including my present team, throughout all of my time at the Department of Work and Pensions.

I truly believe that we have made changes that will greatly improve the life chances of the most disadvantaged people in this country and increase their opportunities to thrive. A nation’s commitment to the least advantaged should include the provision of a generous safety-net but it should also include incentive structures and practical assistance programmes to help them live independently of the state. Together, we’ve made enormous strides towards building a system of social security that gets the balance right between state help and self help.

Throughout these years, because of the perilous public finances we inherited from the last Labour administration, difficult cuts have been necessary. I have found some of these cuts easier to justify than others but aware of the economic situation and determined to be a team player I have accepted their necessity.

You are aware that I believe the cuts would have been even fairer to younger families and people of working age if we had been willing to reduce some of the benefits given to better-off pensioners but I have attempted to work within the constraints that you and the chancellor set.

I have for some time and rather reluctantly come to believe that the latest changes to benefits to the disabled and the context in which they’ve been made are a compromise too far. While they are defensible in narrow terms, given the continuing deficit, they are not defensible in the way they were placed within a Budget that benefits higher earning taxpayers. They should have instead been part of a wider process to engage others in finding the best way to better focus resources on those most in need.

I am unable to watch passively whilst certain policies are enacted in order to meet the fiscal self imposed restraints that I believe are more and more perceived as distinctly political rather than in the national economic interest.

Too often my team and I have been pressured in the immediate run up to a budget or fiscal event to deliver yet more reductions to the working age benefit bill. There has been too much emphasis on money saving exercises and not enough awareness from the Treasury, in particular, that the government’s vision of a new welfare-to-work system could not be repeatedly salami-sliced.

It is therefore with enormous regret that I have decided to resign. You should be very proud of what this government has done on deficit reduction, corporate competitiveness, education reforms and devolution of power. I hope as the government goes forward you can look again, however, at the balance of the cuts you have insisted upon and wonder if enough has been done to ensure “we are all in this together”.- Iain Duncan Smith, BBC.co.uk

Take what you will from it but however is this a victory? Won’t someone just replace him…oh wait, they already did….Stephen Crabb?! Wait, who? No idea but with no doubt will many people dislike him in a few months with people reporting things about him but as for right now, Iain Duncan Smith is out but is that all, will more come soon as we approach June where we decide our fate in Europe…just to let you know people of Europe, our government does not speak for the people! Not one bit!

I don’t want to go into so much detail over it so I’ll end it here, have a good day everyone!